Souderton 9 Bensalem 4

HATFIELD TOWNSHIP—For Seth Grossman, it was a night to remember. The Souderton senior tallied a career high six goals as the Big Red pulled away from Bensalem to record a 9-4 win Thursday Night in a SHSHL National Division non-league encounter at Hatfield Ice.
It was the first win for Souderton (2-5-0-1) in four games and their biggest offensive output of the season.

“I think it was just the fact that we knew we were missing some of our top guys tonight,” Grossman said. “We had to step up and rose to the challenge and we delivered that. People had to step up and they knew it and they stepped up.”
All told, the Big Red was minus seven regulars for one reason or another but Souderton coach Ryan Uchniat pointed out that those who were on hand stepped up when they had to.

“I think tonight being shorthanded, everybody was focused on what we had to do,” he said. “We executed and played the style we wanted to, disciplined. We wanted to play strong defensively. And we got offense from that.”

The game was competitive for most of two periods. Bensalem (2-5), which had just nine players in uniform (several were absent), battled the Big Red to a 3-3 standoff late in the second frame. But Grossman scored his second goal of the night with 3:42 left in the period and Timmy Alexander added a goal of his own 35 seconds later and Souderton went on to dominate the third period.

More to the point, Grossman dominated the third period; he found the back of the net four times. Through eight games he’s collected 12 goals plus eight assists for 20 points

There were some bright spots for the Owls. Alex Hood scored two goals and assisted on another, giving him 14 goals and three assists on the season.

But by the third period he and his teammates didn’t have a lot of gas left in the tank.

“We’re used to a short bench,” said Bensalem coach Jordan Roth. “We had our chances for sure, but all around, we didn’t play together as a team.”
Roth notes that team’s lack of numbers increases the necessity of doing the little things well.

“We face adversity every game,” he said. “There are a lot teams in the league where there are tryouts. We’re fortunate enough to be in the league and have nine players that show up every day and give it their best.

Ice Chips—Alexander scored twice for the Big Red while Noah Connor got the win in goal, making 20 saves before being replaced by Connor Paulus late in the third period. One of his saves came on Hood’s penalty shot in the second period. Gonzalez made 42 saves in the Bensalem net.

Bensalem 2 1 1—4

Souderton 1 4 4—9

First-period goals: Liam O’Neill (S) from Jamie Avaria and Drew Savarese, 3:25; Alex Hood (B) unassisted, 7:53; Cole Salayda (B) from Danny Mackley, 13:55.

Second-period goals: Seth Grossman (S) from Liam O’Neill, 6:51; Timmy Alexander (S) from Matt Malanga, 7:44 (pp); Matthew Rowan (B) from Hood and Mackely, 9:03; Grossman (S) from Malagna, 13:18; Alexander (S) unassisted, 13:53.

Third-period goals: Grossman (S) unassisted, 7:11; Grossman (S) from Liam O’Neill, 7:47; Grossman (S) from Luca Ferretti and Liam O’Neill, 9:29; Grossman (S) from Caiden O’Neill and Liam O’Neill, 12:44; Hood (B) from Rowan and Salayda, 14:19.

Shoots: Bensalem 29, Souderton 51; Saves: Ricky Gonzalez (B) 42, Noah Connor (S) 20 and Connor Paulus (S) 5

St. Joseph’s Prep 7 Father Judge 4

Geoffrey Hammond scored three goals and assisted on another as St. Joseph’s Prep down Father Judge 7-4 Wednesday night in a non-league game at Flyers Skate Zone Northeast. Joey Samango added two goals and two assists as the Hawks improved to 7-2-1 on the season.
John Lynch and Matt Guiliani also scored goals.

La Salle 3 Hun School 1

HATFIELD TOWNSHIP—There wasn’t a lot of artistry on display when Hun School and La Salle took the ice Wednesday afternoon. Instead, the Raiders and the Explorers engaged, in a gritty, grind-it-out encounter before La Salle emerged with a 3-1 win at Hatfield Ice Arena.

The win extended the Explorers’ unbeaten streak to four games and lifted them to 4-3-1 overall (3-1 in the APAC).

The Raiders, who were missing several players due to illness, dropped to 4-4 overall and 1-2 in conference.

“It wasn’t a pretty game for either side,” said La Salle coach Wally Muehlbronner. “We were just happy to get through it on top.”

Three of the game’s four goals came in the first period. Justin Laplante gave the Raiders a 1-0 lead at the 2:51 mark; Ryan Desmond answered for the Explorers at 10:19. Dean Carvalho put his team in front for good when he deposited a rebound of Cam Ross’s shot behind Raider goaltender Julian Arsenault just before the period-ending buzzer.

For most of the rest of the last two periods the teams battled failed to find the net. Muelbronner juggled his lineup in a bid to generate more offense.

“We were mixing things around quite a bit,” he said, “trying different guys in different spots. Nothing seemed to really click.”

Hun School coach Ian McNally had to do some juggling of his own, albeit for different reasons.

“Unfortunately we had four guys out,” he said. “That’s not an excuse for why we lost but it just created enough of a disturbance in lines and power plays and everything.

“We did have to come up with a different game plan. The goal was to be within five minutes with a chance to win because some of the guys who weren’t able to play were the guys who score goals for us. We knew we wouldn’t be scoring five goals, but we knew if there was five minutes left and we were within one or up one or tied, that was the goal.”

Hun School received a power-play chance with 5:45 left in regulation when La Salle’s Chase Hannon was booked for a hooking in fraction but Explorer goaltender Aries Caranagi stood tall, he went on to finish the game with 20 saves. His best effort with just under eight minutes left in regulation when he turn aside a blast from the Raiders’ Scott Richmond.

“When we make mistakes, we know he has our backs,: Desmond said. “To build us back up. And save us when we need him.”

It was wasn’t a stylish performance, but the Explorers got the result they wanted.

“We pulled it together toward the end and came out with the victory,” Desmond said. “That’s all that matters.”

Ice Chips—Julian Arsenault made 34 saves in the Hun School net. The Raiders will face Holy Ghost Prep on Friday before pausing for the holidays while La Salle will travel to the Mount St. Charles tournament in Rhode Island after Christmas. It marks the first time the tournament will be held in three years because of Covid.

Hun School 1 0 0—1

La Salle 2 0 1—3

First period goals: Justin Laplante (HS) unassisted, 2:51; Ryan Desmomd (L) from Chase Hannon, 10:19; Dean Carvalho (L) from Cam Ross and James Carpenter 17:00

Third-period goal: Hannon (L) from Desmond and Evan Golato, 15:29

Shots: Hun School 21, La Salle 37; Saves: Julian Arsenault (HS) 34, Aries Carangi (L) 20

La Salle 7 Malvern Prep 2

HATFIELD TOWNSHIP—A hockey game encompasses three periods. But Monday’s APAC game between host La Salle and Malvern Prep was settled seemingly in the blink of an eye.

The Explorers built a three-goal lead in just over five minutes and rolled on to a 7-2 win over the Friars at Hatfield Ice. The win squared La Salle’s overall record at 3-3-1 and (2-1 in the APAC)).

It didn’t take long for the offensive surge to get started. Ryan Warner found the back of the net just 49 seconds after the opening faceoff and the Explorers were off and running.

Chase Hannon and Dean Carvalho followed with goals in quick succession and just 5:03 into the game La Salle had a 3-0 lead.

Warner spoke to the significance of his team’s fast start. “That was really important for us,” the senior said. “We kind of built our momentum off that. The team was really buzzing. We were getting pucks in deep, working hard, and we really built off that.”

Following Carvalho’s goal, Malvern Prep coach Bill Keenan made a goaltender switch, lifting starter Brandon Novabilsky for Matt Crawford.

Caiden Canale got the Friars on the scoreboard with seven minutes left in the opening session but Hannon answered back for La Salle with 3:31 left and for most of the rest of the game the Friars (5-2, 1-2 in conference) seemingly were skating uphill.

“The last time we played La Salle (a 4-3 Explorer win on Thanksgiving Eve) they jumped on us early,” Friar coach Bill Kenan pointed out. “Today, they jumped on us early. It’s hard to battle back when you’re down 3-0 in the first five minutes.

“We had a good second period, we outshot them, but it’s really hard to get those guys’ mentality back once you go down.”

Malvern Prep’s Jeremy Jacobs and La Salle’s Charlie Kennedy traded goals in the second frame before Carvalho and James Carpenter added goals for La Salle in the third.

Jake Rossi got the win in goal. The sophomore made 34 saves despite leaving the game for a four-minute stretch in the second period because of an equipment issue.

The Explorers are playing their best hockey of the season of late; over the course of their last three starts they’ve compiled a 2-0-1 record while scoring 15 goals.

“We’ve been playing hard,” Warner said. “The team’s been finding our way, and how to work together. I think we’ve really been doing good.”

La Salle coach Wally Muehlbronner spoke to his team’s depth and balance. “If we keep the shifts short, we’re a tough team to play against,” he said. “There’s four lines that can move.

“We did I think a really good job of that in the first period.”

For Keenan, Monday’s game was another step his team’s maturation. “The past two years we’ve graduated a lot of seniors,” he said. “We have six freshmen on this team. They’re still finding their way with high-school hockey in a tough division like the APAC. So, for the guys that are experienced, they’ve got to step up, they’ve got to fill in the gaps that graduated and for the younger guys, they’ve just got to find their footing.

“I have faith in this team, I think they’ll bounce back.

Malvern Prep 1 1 0—2

La Salle 4 1 2—7

First-period goals: Ryan Warner (L) from Dean Carvalho. :49; Chase Hannon (L) from Will Gregorio, 3:38; Carvalho (L) from James Carpenter, 5:03; Caiden Canale (MP) from Jeremy Jacobs, 10:00; Hannon (L) unassisted, 13:29 (pp)

Second-period goals: Jacobs (MP) from Teague Murray, 9:57; Charlie Kennedy (L) from Liam Donahue, 11:36

Third-period goals: Carvalho (L) from Carpenter and Gregorio, 12:59; Carpenter (L) from Carvalho and Patrick Brace, 16:11

Shots: Malvern Prep 40, La Salle 36; Saves: Brandon Novabilsky (MP) 4 and Matt Crawford (MP) 25; Jake Rossi (L) 34 and Aries Carangi (L) 4

CLICK HERE to learn more about La Salle College High School

CLICK HERE to learn more about Malvern Prep

Our latest Hockey Happenings podcast is now LIVE

APAC Standings 11 PM 12-21-22

Won Lost OTW OTL Points GF GA

Holy Ghost Prep (9-2) 3 0 0 1 10 21 12

La Salle (4-3-1) 3 1 0 0 9 16 12

Malvern Prep (6-2) 1 2 0 0 3 9 12

Hun School (4-6) 1 3 0 0 3 14 13

St. Joseph’s Prep (7-2-1) 0 2 1 0 2 4 13

Scoring GP G A Pts

Brady Baehser (HGP) 4 5 5 10

Justin Laplante (HS) 4 5 3 8

Elian Estulin (HS) 2 2 5 7

Jeremy Jacobs (MP) 3 2 5 7

Caiden Caniale (MP) 3 5 1 6

Kieram Mulholland (HGP) 4 6 0 6

John Seravalli (HGP) 4 0 6 6

Dean Carvalho (Ls) 4 3 3 6

Scoring includes conference games only

Hockey Happenings is looking for interested individuals to shoot video of APAC games. For more information, e-mail us at rwoelfel23013@gmail.com.

YouTube TV Package Another Step in the Growth of High School Hockey

Monday’s APAC game between Malvern Prep and La Salle will be streamed live from Hatfield Ice Arena on the Flyers Cup YouTube channel.

Monday’s game is the first of a 10-game Game of the Week package that will air between now and mid-February and feature games from each scholastic league in Southeastern Pennsylvania.

The YouTube package provides a vehicle for exposing high-school hockey to a wider audience, potentially including those who have not witnessed hockey at the high-school level before.
It’s not the first time that TV has been used as a medium to draw new fans to the sport.

In 1967, the National Hockey League expanded from six teams to 12. That’s when the Philadelphia Flyers came into existence, along with the Pittsburgh Penguins, the St. Louis Blues, the Minnesota North Stars (now the Dallas Stars), the Los Angeles Kings, and the California Seals (now defunct).

That same year, CBS launched a Game of the Week telecast which gave many American sports fans their first exposure to the National Hockey League.

The upcoming series of high-school games on YouTube will serve the same function.

The games will be streamed HERE

The schedule is as follows

Monday 12-12 5:15 La Salle vs. Malvern Prep

Friday 12-16. 8:45 Lower Dauphin vs. Hershey

Thursday 12-22 7:00 Conestoga vs. Penncrest

Thursday, January 5 7:10 Plymouth Whitemarsh vs. Abington

Friday, January 13 6:30 Radnor vs. Owen J. Roberts

Friday, January 20 9:00 Eastern vs. Washington Township

Friday, January 27 6:30 Father Judge vs. Salesianum

Wednesday, February 1 7:20 Pennridge vs. Council Rock South

Friday, February 10 6:30 West Chester East vs. Avon Grove

Monday, February 13 9:00 West Chester Rustin vs. Conestoga Girls

Hockey Happenings is looking for interested individuals to shoot video of Atlantic Prep Athletic Conference games. We’re seeking students, parents, and hockey enthusiasts who have experience shooting/editing video.

For more information contact us at rwoelfel2013@gmail.com

Holy Ghost Prep 7 Hun School 3

Brady Baehser scored four goals as Holy Ghost Prep overcame an early 3-1 deficit to defeat The Hun School 7-3 Friday evening in an Atlantic Prep Athletic Conference game at Ice Land.

The Firebirds now stand at 7-2 overall and 2-0-0-1 in the APAC while the Raiders dropped to 4-4 and 1-1.

Baehser gave Holy Ghost Prep a 1-0 lead exactly halfway through the first period but Scott Richmond and Justin Laplante scored goals 51 seconds apart to put Hun School in front with 30 seconds left in the period.

Laplante scored his second goal of the game 3:29 into the second frame but Holy Ghost Prep took over from there. Baehser tied the game at the 8:37 before the Firebirds scored three times in a span of 100 seconds to race out to a 5-3 lead with 1:12 left in the second frame. Kieran Mulholand scored twice in the flurry before Baehser completed a hat trick.

Baehser and Zach Pers scored in the third period.

Holy Ghost Prep 1 4 2—7

Hun School 2 1 0—3

First-period goals: Brady Baehser (HGP) unassisted, 8:30; Scott Richmond (HS) from Ryan Levesque and Justin Laplante, 15:39; Laplante (HS) from Elian Estulin and Levesque, 16:30.

Second-period goals: Laplante (HS) from Estulin and Levesque, 3:29; Baehser (HGP unassisted, 8:37; Kieran Mulholland (HGP) from Shaun Moore and John Seravalli, 14:09; Mulholland (HGP) from Seravalli, 14:48; Baehser (HGP unassisted, 15:48.

Pennsbury 8 C.B. South 2

BRISTOL—It was all systems go for Pennsbury Thursday night. The Falcons lit up the scoreboard at Grundy Arena as if it were a holiday light display in an 8-2 win over Central Bucks South in a SHSHL National Division non-league encounter.

Brendan Macainsh scored four goals and assisted on two others to help Pennsbury to its third straight win and fourth win overall in six starts. Justin Marlin added two goals and two assists. Shane Gleisner and Chris Sarver also scored goals.
The Falcons are averaging five goals a game and have scored 21 times over the course of their last three outings,
Macainsh, a senior and Pennsbury’s captain, says the team’s recent offensive surge stems from aggressive forechecking.

“We weren’t forechecking as much,” he said. “We were just kind of lagging around. We had to pick up our tempo, we had to play the full game, all three periods.”

Justin Marlin put Pennsbury in front just 28 seconds into the first period on a shot from the left point that eluded South netminder Dom Varacallo. Aidan Linso answered for the Titans when he beat Aaron McDaniel with 7:21 left in the opening session, but the Falcons broke the game open in the second frame.

Macainsh, Marlin, Gleisner (with the most picturesque goal of the night off a two-on-one situation), and Macainsh again scored goals in a span of just over six minutes to give Pennsbury a 5-1 lead.

Sean Cutter ended the streak when he scored for the Titans (3-4 overall during a four-on-four situation but Macainsh completed his hat trick with one minute left in the period.

At period’s end the Falcons led 6-2 although their shot advantage was just 23-21. At that point, South coach Shaun McGinty replaced Varacallo in goal with Jason Magaruth before Sarver and Macainsh added goals for Pennsbury in the final period.

McGinty made it clear afterward that Varacallo did not get the defensive support he deserved.

“They were getting two-on-ones, three-on-ones, they were getting odd-man breaks,” he said. “Our defense struggled, they were subpar, and they were outworked.

“I only pulled Dom because it wasn’t fair to him. He gave up (six goals on 23 shots) but on the two-on-ones and the second chances, I’m not putting that on him. Our defense was subpar, we were losing battles, they outworked us.”

Pennsbury coach Ryan Daley expressed satisfaction with his team’s performance.

“We’ve had some good games this year,” he said, “but I think that was the first time we put three full periods together. It seems like the chemistry is finally kind of getting there.”

C.B. South 1 1 0—2

Pennsbury 1 5 2—8

First-period goals: Justin Marlin (P) unassisted, :28; Aidan Linso (CBS) from Brad Cannon and Justin Montagna, 9:39.

Second-period goals: Brendan Macainsh (P) unassisted, :12 (sh); Marlin (P) from Andrew Falkenstein, 2:02; Shane Gleisner (P) from Logan Doyle, 5:04; Macainsh from Chris Sarver and Connor Kane, 6:14; Sean Cutter (CBS) from Linso, 11:10; Macainsh (P) from Marlin, 16:00 (pp).

Third-period goals: Sarver (P) from Jake McCaw and Macainsh, 6:55; Macainsh (P) from Jake Seiler, 13:20 (pp).

Shots: C.B. South 28, Pennsbury 34; Saves: Dom Varacallo (CBS) 17 and Jason Magaruh (CBS) 9, Aaron McDaniel (P) 26

Malvern Prep 3 Archbishop Spalding 0

Jimmy Jacobs scored two goals and Pax Hoishik scored the first varsity goal of his career as Malvern Prep shut out Archbishop Spalding 3-0 on Thursday in a non-league encounter at Ice Line.
Matt Crawford got the shutout in goal, making 29 saves.

The win lifted the Friars to 5-1 on the season.

Archbishop Spalding 0 0 0

Malvern Prep 0 2 1—3

Second-period goals: Jimmy Jacobs (MP) from Jeremy Jacobs and Jonathan Holt, :55; Jacobs (MP) from Pax Hoishik, 5:14

Third-period goal: Hoishik (MP) from Jimmy Jacobs and Jack Sharer, 4:33.

La Salle 6 Morristown Beard 1

By Matt Millevoi

The La Salle College High School Explorers skated away with a six to one victory over Morristown Beard Wednesday afternoon at Hatfield Ice. La Salle entered the afternoon coming off a tie the night before against Del Barton and was looking to get back on track. Starting the season with a disappointing 1-3-1 record going into Wednesday’s matchup, the Explorers knew they had to make a statement.

From start to finish, La Salle was dominant. La Salle had a season high 48 shots on net compared to Beard’s 23. The commanding shot differential led to an end of gave score of 6-1 in the Explorers’ favor.

“It’s a sign that we are starting to play the right way” Explorers head coach Wally Muehlbronner said. They controlled every facet of the ice. Whether it was faceoffs, or keeping the puck in the offensive zone, Beard could not keep up.”

All players for the Explorers played well, but it was the seniors that shined brighter than the rest. Four of their six goals came off the sticks of seniors including two from Chase Hannon while also tallying an assist. The senior line of Evan Golato, Ryan Desmond and Chase Hannon rarely spent time in their own zone and constantly creating golden opportunities for the Explorers.

Even though they lost the game, Morristown Beard had plenty of scoring opportunities including nine minutes and 23 seconds with a man advantage. With all this time on the power play, Beard could not get the puck by senior goaltender Aries Carnagi who stood on his head the whole game. Carnagi recorded 22 saves on 23 shots. Another reason that Morristown struggled on the power play was La Salle’s demanding pressure and perseverance in their defensive zone. This pressure led to a shorthanded goal by senior forward Ryan Desmond with 4:52 left in the first period.

“We had a tough game yesterday against Del Barton as we tied, but we were in our d-zone a lot and we are playing much better in our defensive zone,” Muehlbronner said.

La Salle’s next tilt is against rival school Malvern Prep on Monday, December 12^th at 5:15 P.M. at Hatfield Ice. Last time these teams played it was La Salle coming out on top with 4-3.